This page details The Throat of the World main story Skyrim quest. Includes how to find Paarthurnax at the Throat of the World to learn the Dragonrend shout.

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The Throat of the World, Skyrim.

Quest Overview¶

1. Talk to Paarthurnax.

2. Learn the Word of Power from Paarthurnax.

3. Use your “Fire Breath” shout on Paarthurnax.

4. Talk to Paarthurnax.

How to Find Paarthurnax¶

Now that you’ve found Alduin’s Wall and discovered that you need to learn a specific shout to defeat Alduin, it’s time to visit the Greybeards to learn more about the shout. If you don’t feel like making the journey to High Hrothgar on foot again, you can easily fast travel there from the map.

Once there, find and speak with Arngeir. You’ll soon find that he isn’t very receptive to the idea of you learning the Dragonrend shout, especially since you’ve been working with the Blades. It seems the Greybeards and the Blades dislike each other in equal measure. The Blades want to save the world from the destruction brought by Alduin, while the Greybeards seem content with allowing the world to be destroyed, for a new one to take its place.

It doesn’t matter much who you agree with at this point, soon Master Einarth will remind Arngeir of his duty, seemingly agreeing that you should be allowed to speak with Paarthurnax, their leader. He resides at the highest point of the mountain, at the Throat of the World, but to reach him you’ll need to learn a new shout first. After the conversation with Arngeir, follow the Greybeards outside to the courtyard. Here they’ll teach you the Clear Skies shout, including all the words of power associated with it.

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(1 of 2) Speak with the Greybeards at High Hrothgar to learn about Paarthurnax.

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Speak with the Greybeards at High Hrothgar to learn about Paarthurnax. (left), The Greybeards will teach you the Clear Skies shout, which you’ll need to reach Paarthurnax. (right)

Use the Clear Skies Shout to Reach Paarthurnax¶

Now that you’ve learnt the Clear Skies shout, you can use it to clear the stormy weather on the way up to the Throat of the World. As with any other shout, each time you use it there will be a cooldown timer before you can use it again. However, if you want to speed up the process you can simply tap the button for the shout to use just the first word, which is sufficient to clear most of the clouds.

The storm clouds will inflict damage if you try to walk through them without using the Clear Skies shout, so it’s worth waiting. Along the way you’ll also encounter some Ice Wraiths, which can inflict a significant amount of damage if you’re not well armored. Be ready to fight these and kill them as quickly as possible, and be sure to heal up before you move on. The Ice Wraiths can crit for a high amount of damage, so it’s worth being at full health for each encounter.

When you finally reach the top of the mountain, you’ll find that Paarthurnax is actually a dragon. As a seemingly friendly dragon, it’s safe to approach. He’ll greet you when he lands, then express the need to observe formalities by breathing fire at the nearby dragon wall. You can then learn the Fire - Fire Breath shout from the wall, and use the shout on Paarthurnax to greet him formally. You won’t be able to continue with the conversation until you’ve breathed fire on Paarthurnax.

As you speak with Paarthurnax he’ll tell you a bit about the history of the Dragonrend shout, and ultimately that he is incapable of learning the shout himself, since it’s used specifically to defeat dragons. Paarthurnax will explain that the Dragonrend shout doesn’t necessarily defeat a dragon on its own, but rather cripples them. To defeat Alduin, the ancient Nords required something else: an Elder Scroll.

The Elder Scroll was used in conjunction with Dragonrend to push Alduin forward into time, and the only people that could possibly teach you the Dragonrend shout would be the ancient heroes that used it in the first place. Paarthurnax reasons that if you had the Elder Scroll, you could go back in time and learn the shout from those heroes yourself. So begins the next quest.

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(1 of 5) Use Clear Skies to break the storm clouds and continue up the mountain path.

Meditate on Words of Power¶

After completing the quest, before you leave we recommend that you speak with Paarthurnax to exhaust the dialogue options. You’ll have an opportunity to meditate on specific words of power, which provide the following bonuses: